Photojournalist Stephanie Keith on documenting ICE and capturing a moment that became the cover of New York magazine

On the latest episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephanie Keith joins Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong to discuss her latest project, which became a powerful cover story for New York magazine: a series of photos taken in the corridors of 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, where undocumented immigrants showing up for routine hearings were being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 

She captured the sudden and heartbreaking moments where people were separated from their families, or taken away without their loved ones even knowing what happened. 

Get the full show notes: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/12/04/photojournalist-stephanie-keith-documenting-ice-new-york-magazine-cover/

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Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Editors Mentioned 

• Stephanie Keith
• “Portfolio: The Trap at 26 Federal Plaza” (Photographs by Stephanie Keith. Article by Andrew Rice and Paula Aceves, New York magazine, 2025)
• Keith's coverage of the Standing Rock protests (2016)
• Jody Quon
• Andrew Rice
• Paula Aceves

Show credits

Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong
Associate producer: Marina Leigh
Episode editor: Kelly Araja
Audience editor: Adriana Lacy
Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle
Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova

Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu
Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Cover design by Adriana Lacy

Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.